And the post has already garnered dozens of responses from savvy shoppers and supermarket employees who are all too keen to offer their top tips.

Redditor, Kelfrimo, offered a word of caution about Waitrose's "massive" reductions: "I can confirm, yep, from 5 to 6.30 at Waitrose. Beware: Waitrose reductions are massive compared to Tesco, Morrisons & Sainsbury. At least in Bakery and sandwiches.

danltn said: "Was poor student, can confirm 5.45pm to 7.30pm from 2010-2014 at Tesco. Am still poor student, can confirm 5-6.30pm at Tesco.

Shields32, who says they're a former Tesco employee, said: "We would do 3 reduction runs per day. One at like 8.30am where everything going out of date went down 25%. 1pm to 2pm you do another pass and go to 50% off. Anytime after 5.30pm you do a final pass and anything that still hasn't sold goes down to 75% off.

"By 9pm I am chucking stuff out. Usually I would slap like a 2p sticker on whatever was left and solicit passersby as a last-ditch effort to avoid wasting it. The choicest items are usually picked up early by staff members and squirrelled away through the back though."

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luox1 said: "Changes from store to store, but in the two we go to, the Co-op is around 6ish and the Sainsburys is 5.20-5.40 ish.

"If it's a big supermarket with a fish stand/deli/meat stand then they have to get rid of large parts of that the same day so will clear all of it in time for the post-work rush."

atipaspi added: "M&S have great reductions. The first round in the morning is 20% off, further reductions after 2pm to about 50%, then half an hour before closing 75-90% off. I have a freezer full of their reduced stuff."

"Why don't they just give to the homeless? I have a routine where I go into Tesco after the gym at 9:30 to check if there is anything for the poor buggers," they wrote. "One time I bought 20 sandwiches at 6p each and went around Manchester handing them out."

Some stores reduce food up to three times a day

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When's the best time to get a bargain at your local supermarket?

The M.E.N. asked the major supermarkets for the times when they start cutting the prices of food that's nearing its sell-by date, but some of their responses were vague. Here are their responses, and what we've found by doing a little research.

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Asda

(Image: PA)

Official response: "We mark down all of our fresh products in the morning on their last day of sale. Fresh bakery items baked in the morning are marked down later in the day, and non-fresh products are marked down dependant on the expiry date."

What shoppers found: Asda tends to mark down their fresh food the morning of its sell-by-date at around 8.30-9.30am, with bakery items being reduced later in the day after 6pm.

Tesco

(Image: PA)

Official response: "We try to order the exact amount we need but things vary, and when we do have some more food than we're likely to sell. we reduce it to make sure it doesn't go to waste. That process happens at different times of of the day and varies in different stores, so each store will be slightly different."

What shoppers found: The first discount seems to be around 10am and is somewhere in the region of 15%, then if it’s not sold, it's reduced again by up to 50% after 5pm.

Sainsbury's

Official response: "It entirely depends on each individual store."

What shoppers found: First reductions tend to be between 1pm and 2pm, with further discounts from 5pm, and a final reduction between 8pm and 9pm.

Morrisons

Official response: "We tend to reduce items on the day when the sell-by date's nearly up. One thing I notice myself is that towards the end of week there are quite a few reduced items in the evening time, but that does vary."

What shoppers found: Items nearing their sell-by date are reduced in the morning (usually by around 25%). At lunchtime, any items that haven't sold are marked down again. At the end of the day anything left over is further reduced for a quick sale.

M&S

(Image: Wokingham Times)

Official response: "We’re working hard to predict how much food we need in the first place and then make up to three price reductions a day if necessary to clear short-life products. Where we are left with some surpluses in store we aim to redistribute what we can. We believe that this is a great way of making a positive difference to our local communities and also reduces waste."

What shoppers found: Reductions appear to be made three times a day: early in the morning not long after the store's opened, around 2pm, and finally around 6pm.

Co-op Food

(Image: PA)

Official response: “The majority of our products are reduced based on a centrally coordinated programme which determines which products should be reduced and at what time. The majority of price reductions take place early in the afternoon, and we can reduce prices up to three times.”

What shoppers found: Co-op starts lowering prices in the early afternoon, with further reductions before the store closes - usually around 8pm - if the food hasn't been sold.

Let us know when to get the best offers at your supermarket in the comments section below, over on our Facebook page , or on Twitter @MENnewsdesk .